Cara E. Yar Khan: The beautiful balance between courage and fear | TED

202,633 views ・ 2020-01-22

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

Translator: Eduard Torras Saiz Reviewer: Saray Fernandez
00:13
When we're young, we're innocently brave,
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Quan som joves, som valents i innocents
00:16
and we fearlessly dream about what our lives might be like.
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i no tenim por de somiar sobre la vida que ens espera.
00:19
Maybe you wanted to be an astronaut or a rocket scientist.
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Potser volies ser astronauta o enginyer aeroespacial.
00:23
Maybe you dreamed of traveling to every continent.
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Potser somiaves viatjar per tot el món.
00:27
Since I was very young,
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Des que era molt petita,
00:28
I dreamed of working for the United Nations
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jo volia treballar per les Nacions Unides
00:31
in some of the most difficult countries in the world.
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als països més difícils del món.
00:34
And thanks to a lot of courage
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I gràcies a molt coratge
00:36
that dream came true.
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aquest somni es va fer realitat.
00:38
But here's the thing about courage:
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Però amb la valentia passa una cosa:
00:40
it doesn't just appear whenever we need it.
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no sorgeix del no-res quan la necessitem.
00:43
It's the result of tough reflection and real work,
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És el resultat d'una profunda reflexió i feina de debò,
00:46
involving the balance between fear and bravery.
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que implica un equilibri entre la por i el valor.
00:51
Without fear, we'll do foolish things.
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Sense por, faríem estupideses.
00:53
And without courage, we'll never step into the unknown.
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I sense coratge, mai no exploraríem allò desconegut.
00:57
The balance of the two is where the magic lies,
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La màgia es troba en l'equilibiri entre ambdues coses
01:00
and it's a balance we all deal with every day.
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i és un equilibri amb què batallem cada dia
01:04
First, a word about my fancy wheels.
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Començaré parlant d'aquestes precioses rodes.
01:07
I haven't always used a wheelchair.
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No sempre he fet servir cadira de rodes.
01:09
I grew up like many of you,
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Vaig créixer com la majoria,
01:11
running, jumping and dancing.
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corrent, saltant i ballant.
01:13
I love to dance.
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M'encanta ballar.
01:16
However, in my mid-twenties,
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Maladaurament, als vint-i-escaig,
01:18
I began to experience a series of inexplicable falls.
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vaig començar a patir un seguit de caigudes inexplicables.
01:22
And a few years later,
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I uns anys després,
01:23
I was diagnosed with a recessive genetic condition
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em van diagnosticar una malaltia genètica recessiva
01:27
called hereditary inclusion body myopathy,
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que es diu miopatia hereditària amb cossos d'inclusió,
01:30
or HIBM.
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o HIBM.
01:33
It's a progressive muscle wasting disease
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És una malaltia muscular degenerativa progressiva
01:36
that affects all of my muscles from head to toe.
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que m'afecta tots els músculs del cos.
01:39
HIBM is very rare.
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L'HIBM és molt infreqüent.
01:42
In the United States there are less than 200 people diagnosed.
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Als EUA n'hi ha menys de 200 casos diagnosticats.
01:47
To date, there is no proved treatment or cure,
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Actualment, no existeix cap tractament ni cura eficaç,
01:51
and within 10 to 15 years of its onset,
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i transcorreguts 10 o 15 anys des que apareix,
01:54
HIBM typically leads to quadriplegia,
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normalment condueix a la tetraplegia,
01:57
which is why I now use a wheelchair.
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i per això ara vaig en cadira de rodes.
02:00
When I was first diagnosed, everything changed.
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Després del diagnòstic, va canviar tot.
02:04
It was frightening news
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Em vaig espantar molt
02:06
because I had no experience with chronic illness or disabilities.
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perquè no tenia experiència en malalties cròniques ni en discapacitats.
02:10
And I had no idea how the disease might progress.
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I no tenia ni idea de com podia avançar la malaltia.
02:15
But what was most disheartening
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Però el que més em desanimava
02:17
was to listen to other people advise me
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era escoltar com la gent m'aconsellava
02:20
to limit my ambitions and dreams,
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que limités les meves ambicions i somnis,
02:22
and to change my expectations of what to expect from life.
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i que canviés les expectatives i el que esperava de la vida.
02:27
"You should quit your international career."
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"Hauries d'abandonar la carrera internacional"
02:30
"No one will marry you this way."
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"Així ningú no es casarà amb tu"
02:32
"You would be selfish to have children."
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"Tenir fills seria egoista per part teva"
02:36
The fact that someone who wasn't me
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El fet que algú que no era jo
02:39
was putting limitations on my dreams and ambitions
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posés límits als meus somnis i ambicions
02:41
was preposterous.
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era ridícul.
02:43
And unacceptable.
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I inacceptable.
02:46
So I ignored them.
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No els vaig fer cas.
02:48
(Cheers and applause)
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(Aclamacions i aplaudiments)
02:54
I did get married.
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Em vaig casar.
02:56
And I decided for myself not to have children.
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I vaig decidir lliurement no tenir fills.
03:00
And I continued my career with the United Nations
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I vaig continuar la meva carrera a les Nacions Unides
03:03
after my diagnosis,
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després del diagnòstic,
03:04
going to work for two years in Angola,
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i vaig treballar dos anys a Angola,
03:07
a country recovering from 27 years of brutal civil war.
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un país que s'està recuperant de 27 anys d'una guerra civil brutal.
03:12
However, it would be another five years
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Tot i això, vaig trigar cinc anys
03:14
until I officially declared my diagnosis to my employer.
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en comunicar oficialment el diagnòstic al meu cap.
03:17
Because I was afraid
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Perquè tenia por
03:19
that they would question my capacity to manage and I'd lose my job.
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que qüestionarien la meva capacitat de lideratge i perdria la feina.
03:23
I was working in countries where polio had been common,
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Treballava a països on la pòlio havia estat habitual,
03:26
so when I overheard someone say
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i quan vaig sentir que algú deia
03:28
that they thought I might have survived polio,
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que pensava que potser jo l'havia passat,
03:31
I thought my secret was safe.
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vaig creure que el meu secret estava segur.
03:34
No one asked why I was limping.
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Ningú no em preguntava per la coixesa
03:36
So I didn't say anything.
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I jo no deia res.
03:38
It took me over a decade
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Va caldre més d'una dècada
03:39
to internalize the severity of HIBM,
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perquè assimilés la gravetat de l'HIBM,
03:43
even as basic tasks and functions became increasingly difficult.
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malgrat que les tasques i funcions bàsiques eren cada cop més difícils.
03:47
Yet, I continued to pursue my dream of working all over the world,
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Però vaig seguir perseguint el meu somni de treballar arreu del món,
03:51
and was even appointed as a disability focal point
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i em van nomenar coordinadora per la discapacitat
03:54
for UNICEF in Haiti,
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de l'UNICEF a Haití,
03:56
where I served for two years after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
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on vaig treballar dos anys després del devastador terratrèmol del 2010.
04:01
And then my work brought me to the United States.
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Després la feina em va dur als Estats Units.
04:03
And even as the disease progressed significantly
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I tot i que la malaltia progressava clarament
04:06
and I needed leg braces and a walker to get around,
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i ja necessitava aparells ortopèdics i caminadors per moure'm,
04:09
I still longed for adventure.
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seguia buscant aventures.
04:12
And this time,
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Aquest cop,
04:14
I started dreaming of a grand outdoor adventure.
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somiava en una gran aventura a l'aire lliure.
04:17
And what's more grand than the Grand Canyon?
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I que pot ser més gran que el Gran Canyó?
04:21
Did you know that for every five million people who visit the Rim
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Sabíeu que de cada cinc milions de persones que el visiten
04:26
only one percent go down to the canyon's base?
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només un 1 % baixa fins a la base del canyó?
04:30
I wanted to be a part of that one percent.
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Volia formar part d'aquest u per cent.
04:33
The only thing is --
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El problema és --
04:34
(Applause)
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(Aplaudiments)
04:39
The only thing is that the Grand Canyon isn't exactly accessible.
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El problema és que el Gran Canyó no és precisament accessible.
04:43
I was going to need some assistance
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Necessitaria ajuda
04:45
to get down the 5,000-foot descent of vertical loose terrain.
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per fer la baixada de 1500 metres de terreny vertical i solt.
04:50
Now, when I face obstacles,
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Ara, quan afronto obstacles,
04:52
fear doesn't necessarily immediately set in
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la por no sempre arriba de seguida
04:55
because I assume that one way or another,
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perquè dono per fet que d'alguna manera,
04:58
I'll figure it out.
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me'n sortiré.
05:00
And in this case, my thought was,
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En aquest cas vaig pensar,
05:02
well, if I can't walk down,
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bé, si no puc caminar fins a baix,
05:04
I could learn to ride a horse.
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puc aprendre a muntar a cavall.
05:06
So that's what I did.
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Això és el que vaig fer.
05:08
And with that fateful decision
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I amb aquesta decisió trascendental
05:10
began a four-year commitment,
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va començar un compromís de quatre anys,
05:12
tossing back and forth between fear and courage
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en què alternava la por i la valentia
05:15
to undertake a 12-day expedition.
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per emprendre una expedició de 12 dies.
05:18
Four days on horseback to cross Grand Canyon rim to rim,
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Quatre dies a cavall per creuar tot el Gran Canyó,
05:21
and eight days rafting 150 miles of the Colorado River,
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i vuit dies fent 240 km de ràfting pel riu Colorado,
05:25
all with a film crew in tow.
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amb un equip de gravació a remolc.
05:27
Spoiler alert -- we made it.
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Us avanço que ho vam aconseguir.
05:30
But not without showing me how my deepest fear
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Però no sense demostrar-me com la por més profunda
05:32
can somehow manifest a mirror response of equal courage.
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a vegades implica una resposta d'un valor equivalent.
05:37
On April 13, 2018,
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El 13 d'abril del 2018
05:41
sitting eight feet above the ground,
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asseguda a dos metres i mig de terra
05:42
riding a mustang horse named Sheriff,
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sobre un cavall mustang que es deia Sheriff,
05:45
my first impression of Grand Canyon
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la meva primera impressió del Gran Canyó
05:47
was one of shock and terror.
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va ser d'astorament i terror.
05:50
Who knew I had a fear of heights.
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No sabia que tenia vertigen.
05:53
(Laughter)
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(Riures)
05:54
But there was no giving up now.
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Però ja no hi havia marxa enrere.
05:56
I mustered up every ounce of courage inside me
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Vaig reunir tot el coratge que tenia dins
06:00
to not let my fear get the best of me.
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per impedir que la por em dominés.
06:04
Embarking on the South Rim,
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Partint des de la vora sud,
06:05
all I could do to keep myself composed
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l'únic que podia fer per mantenir-me serena
06:08
was to breathe deeply, stare up into the clouds
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era respirar a fons, contemplar els núvols
06:12
and focus on my team's voices.
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i centrar-me en les veus de l'equip.
06:15
But then, in the first hour, disaster struck.
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Però llavors, tot just començar, va succeir el desastre.
06:20
Unable to hold myself upright in the saddle,
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Incapaç de seguir ben muntada a la sella
06:22
going down an oversized step,
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en baixar un esglaó enorme,
06:24
I flung forward and smacked my face on the back of the horse's head.
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vaig caure endavant i vaig picar de cara amb el cap del cavall.
06:29
There was panic,
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Em vaig espantar molt,
06:30
my head hurt fiercely,
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i el cap em feia molt de mal,
06:32
but the path was too narrow for us to dismount.
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però el camí era massa estret per desmuntar.
06:36
Only at the halfway point at 2,300 feet,
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Vam haver d'arribar a mig camí, als 700 metres,
06:38
at least another two hours down,
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després d'almenys dues hores més de baixada,
06:41
could we stop and remove my helmet
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per poder aturar-nos i treure'm el casc
06:43
and see the egg-sized bump protruding from my forehead.
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per veure el bony de la mida d'un ou que tenia al front.
06:47
For all of that planning and gear,
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Tant de planejar l'equipatge,
06:49
how is it that we didn't even have an ice pack?
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i ningú havia pensat en una bossa de gel?
06:52
(Laughter)
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(Riures)
06:53
Luckily for all of us, the swelling came outwards,
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Per sort per tothom, el bony va sortir enfora,
06:56
and would drain into my face as two fantastic black eyes
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i se'm va drenar a la cara en forma de dos fantàstics ulls de vellut
07:00
which is an amazing way to look in a documentary film.
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que s'avenen molt per un documental.
07:03
(Laughter)
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(Riures)
07:05
(Applause and cheers)
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(Aplaudiments i aclamacions)
07:10
This was not an easy, peaceful journey,
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No va ser un viatge fàcil ni tranquil,
07:12
and yet, that was exactly the point.
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però justament per això tenia sentit.
07:14
Even though I was afraid to get back into the saddle,
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Malgrat que em feia por tornar a la sella,
07:17
I got back in.
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ho vaig fer.
07:18
The descent alone to the canyon floor
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La baixada al fons del canyó
07:20
took a total of 10 hours
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va durar 10 hores en total
07:22
and that was just day one of four riding.
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i només era el primer dels quatre dies a cavall.
07:25
Next came the mighty rapids.
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Després tocaven els ràpids forts.
07:27
The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon
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El Riu Colorado al Gran Canyó
07:29
has some of the highest white water in the country.
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té unes de les aigües braves més altes del país.
07:32
And just to be prepared in case we should capsize,
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Per estar preparats per si bolcàvem,
07:35
we'd practice having me swim through a smaller rapid.
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vam fer-me nedar per un ràpid petit.
07:38
And it's safe to say it wasn't glamorous.
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Us puc assegurar que no va ser glamurós.
07:41
(Laughter)
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(Riures)
07:42
I took my breath in the wrong part of the wave,
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Vaig prendre aire a la zona equivocada de l'onada,
07:44
choked on river water
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em vaig ennuegar amb l'aigua
07:46
and was unable to steer myself.
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i no vaig poder redreçar-me.
07:48
Yes, it was scary,
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Sí, feia por,
07:50
but it was also fantastic.
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però també era fantàstic.
07:52
Waterfalls, slick canyons
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Cascades, canyons relliscosos
07:55
and a couple billion years of bedrock
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i dos mil millions d'anys de roca mare
07:56
that seemed to change color throughout the day.
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que semblava canviar de color al llarg del dia.
07:59
The Grand Canyon is true wilderness
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El Gran Canyó es natura en estat pur
08:02
and worthy of all of its accolades.
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i és mereix tots els elogis que rep.
08:05
(Applause)
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(Aplaudiments)
08:12
The expedition,
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L'expedició,
08:14
all that planning and the trip itself,
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tota l'organització i el viatge en sí,
08:17
showed me a level of fear I had never experienced before.
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em va fer passar una por que no havia experimentat mai abans.
08:22
But more importantly,
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Però sobretot,
08:23
it showed me how boldly courageous I can be.
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em va mostrar com de valenta i atrevida puc ser.
08:28
My Grand Canyon journey was not easy.
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El meu viatge al Gran Canyó no va ser fàcil.
08:30
This was not a vision of an Amazonian woman
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No era la imatge d'una amazona
08:33
effortlessly making her way through epic scenery.
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obrint-se pas sense esforç a través d'un paisatge èpic.
08:36
This was me crying,
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Era jo plorant,
08:38
exhausted and beat up with two black eyes.
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esgotada i colpejada amb dos ulls de vellut.
08:42
It was scary,
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Era terrorífic,
08:43
it was stressful,
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estressant,
08:45
it was exhilarating.
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estimulant.
08:49
Now that the trip is over,
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Acabat el viatge,
08:50
it's easy to be blasé about what we achieved.
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es fàcil no donar importància al que vam aconseguir.
08:53
I know I want to raft the river again.
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Sé que vull tornar a fer ràfting pel riu.
08:56
This time, all 277 miles of it.
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Aquest cop, pels 4500 km que té.
08:59
(Applause)
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(Aplaudiments)
09:03
But I also know that I would never do the horseback-riding part again.
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Però també sé que mai tornaria a muntar a cavall.
09:06
(Laughter)
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(Riures)
09:08
It's just too dangerous.
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És massa perillós.
09:10
And that's my real point.
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Aquest és el meu missatge.
09:12
I'm not just here to show you my film footage.
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No soc aquí només per ensenyar-vos el que vaig gravar.
09:15
I'm here to remind us all
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Soc aquí per recordar tothom
09:17
that life is really just a lesson
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que en realitat la vida és només una lliçó
09:19
in finding the balance between fear and courage.
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en trobar l'equilibri entre por i coratge.
09:22
And understanding what is and what isn't a good idea.
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I entendre què és i què no és una bona idea.
09:27
(Laughter)
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(Riures)
09:28
Life is already scary,
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La vida ja fa prou por,
09:30
so for our dreams to come true, we need to be brave.
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i hem de ser valents per complir els nostres somnis.
09:34
In facing my fears
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Tot afrontant les pors
09:35
and finding the courage to push through them,
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i trobant el valor per superar-les,
09:38
I swear my life has been extraordinary.
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juro que la meva vida ha estat extraordinària.
09:42
So live big
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Viviu al màxim
09:43
and try to let your courage outweigh your fear.
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i intenteu que el coratge superi la por.
09:46
You never know where it might take you.
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Mai se sap on et portarà.
09:49
Thank you.
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Gràcies.
09:50
(Applause and cheers)
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(Aplaudiments i aclamacions)
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

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